Friday, July 23, 2010

Honey bees and other pollinators are essential for the production of many of the foods we grow and eat every day. These include fruits like blueberries, apples, and peaches, as well as many vegetables, including cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, beans, melons, and peppers. When crops are not adequately pollinated the results are misshapen fruits, reduced yields, or no yields. Maintain your gardens productivity by planting flowers to encourage pollinators to visit your garden. Protect them once they are there by using pesticides carefully and sparingly.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Would you like to be a more successful gardener? Do you want to understand the science of gardening? Are you interested in sharing your knowledge with others? If so, you should become a Master Gardener Volunteer! Master Gardener Volunteers are people just like you who enjoy gardening and want to share their passion and knowledge with others. Master Gardeners volunteer with their local Cooperative Extension’s horticulture outreach program to share information with people in their communities. The first step to becoming a Master Gardener is to attend Master Gardener training, which begins August 12th in Pender County.

Master Gardener training is open to all Pender County residents. No previous horticultural training is required. Find out more and download an application and schedule here: http://pender.ces.ncsu.edu/content/mg

Friday, July 9, 2010

Crape myrtles are the queen of the southern summer landscape. Who can deny that title to a plant that dares to flaunt such large trusses of brightly colored blossoms in the heat and humidity of high summer? But their reign does not end when fall begins. If grown properly, crape myrtle can truly be a tree of year-around beauty. In addition, the wide variety of selections available will guarantee that the perfect crape myrtle can be found for every southern landscape.

When choosing a crape myrtle variety for your landscape be sure to take note of its mature size and plant it in a location where it will have room to grow. 'Tuscarora' (seen here) is a medium sized crape myrtle, reaching 20' or a little more. Like all National Arboretum hybrids it has great powdery mildew resistance. Proper siting means you will not have to prune trees severely, which destroys the natural shape and elegant form of mature crape myrtles!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Even if you cannot afford an island vacation this summer you can bring a touch of the tropics to your backyard by planting plants with tropical flare, like this hardy red ginger, Hedychium coccineum. This lush perennial grows best in moist, rich soils in sun to part shade and produces bright orange, sweetly fragrant flowers in summer.

The tropical look is currently one of the hottest trends in landscaping, and relies on using plants with large, lush foliage and bright, colorful flowers. Fortunately there are plenty of perennials, shrubs and palms winter hardy to our area with tropical appeal.